Page:Hans Andersen's fairy tales (Robinson).djvu/68

THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER herself outside in the garden; but it was not like this before—the heaven was red and shining, it was towards daybreak.

Only three minutes in Heaven, and a whole night had passed on the earth!

Then she saw the storks; she cried to them, speaking their language, and father-stork turned his head, listened, and drew near her.

'You are speaking our language!' said he; 'what do you want? Why do you come here, you strange woman?'

'It is I! it is Helga! Don't you know me? Three minutes ago we were talking together, yonder in the verandah.'

'That is a mistake!' said the stork; 'you must have dreamt it!'

'No, no!' she said, and reminded him of the Viking's stronghold and the moor, and of the journey hither!

Then father-stork blinked his eyes: 'That is a very old story; I have heard it from my great-great-great-grandmother's time! Yes, certainly, there was such a princess in Egypt from the land of Denmark, but she disappeared on the night of her wedding many hundreds of years ago, and never came back again. That you may read for yourself on the monument in the garden; there are sculptured both swans and storks, and at the top you yourself stand in white marble.'

It was indeed so. Little Helga saw it, understood it, and fell on her knees.

The sun broke forth, and as in former times at the touch of its beams the toad form disappeared and the beautiful shape was seen, so she raised herself now at the baptism of light in a form of brighter beauty, purer than the air, a ray of light—to the Father of all. 49